High School Hero
by the diggler
Summary: High School AU in which Dean can't stop referencing Superman around the nerdy new guy who seems to keep saving his ass. (Dean/Castiel SLASH. DO NOT READ IN MOBILE READER VIEW as section breaks will be lost)


Spoilers/Warnings: SLASH. AU references from seasons 4 to 6.

Author's Notes: I started drabbling one day and couldn't stop, this is what happened. It's my first real attempt at writing Dean/Castiel, so it's chock full of Destiel cliches that I had to get out of my system, sorry if you've read it all before. There's also a reference to drabble I did called 'First Day' that's at my LJ, the address is in my profile :)

Disclaimer: Supernatural is the brain-spawn of the almighty Kripke. I'm just showing love. And do I really need to say that Superman isn't mine either? Well, guess I just did ^^; 

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><p><strong>High School Hero<strong>

Dean Winchester wasn't a total loser. He got along well enough with his peers so that most of them were friendly enough, and he still got his fair share of dates… well, maybe _more_ than his fair share… but he was still essentially a loner. And maybe for that reason he just couldn't share his classmates' enthusiasm about Senior year. To be honest, he just wanted to get his diploma like his father insisted and then spend his days under the hood of a car in Uncle Bobby's garage, instead of steeped in the ridiculous nonsense that was High School.

Case in point. To his left, one of the girls he'd been messing around with this past summer was eyeing him with an open leer from down the hallway. Been there, done that, and quite frankly, Dean was over it. With a sigh he slammed his locker door shut, turned to head the other way… and cringed when he caught sight of her twin coming from the other direction, a predatory smirk on her face.

Judging by the way neither of the sisters weren't clawing his eyes out on sight, they obviously hadn't found out about each other yet.

~

Dean sighed, leaning back on his locker and shutting his eyes as if it would make the two girls go away. Not five minutes into his Senior year and the shit was already about to hit the fan. He had a vague notion that this might be a good chance to suggest a threesome, but quickly decided he wasn't caffeinated enough to finesse that yet. Sighing again, Dean opened his eyes, intent on finding another escape route- when he was stopped dead in his tracks, transfixed by a pair of startling blue eyes, focused directly on him.

Maybe Dean was just readjusting to the light, but everything else around him seemed to blur as those unwavering blue eyes locked with his. Their owner came straight towards Dean, his steps filled with a sense of purpose, and then he stopped, a mere handspace away in Dean's personal space, and for a moment Dean was stunned as he took in the depths of those eyes… full, _full_ lips… dark unruly hair that looked like someone had grabbed their fists into it without any caution to the mess they would have left behind….

"Who are you?" Dean sputtered, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Castiel."

~

Dean blinked.

Castiel just blinked back at Dean, tilting his head in the silent wait, as if Dean was the monosyllabic weirdo here.

"Okayyy…" Dean drew in a breath, trying to regain his composure enough to attempt speaking properly. "You're new, huh?" he huffed out, unable to come up with anything other than the obvious.

Castiel straightened up. "Yes. Could you tell me where the Guidance Office is?"

"No problem," Dean grinned. "In fact, I'll do you one better and show you there myself," he said, suddenly remembering the Doublemint twins and grateful for the excuse to escape. Clapping a hand on Castiel's back he led the way.

"I'm Dean by the way, and you totally just saved my ass."

~

As they walked towards the Guidance Office Dean found himself breathing a bit easier, the other boy's eyes now turned ahead instead of pinned on Dean and turning him all kinds of stupid. But although it was a brief reprieve Dean still found himself furtively glancing at Castiel, in the hopes of catching his eye again.

"So…" Dean cleared his throat. "Casti_el_," he said, annunciating each syllable as he tested out the unusual name.

"Yes," Castiel nodded in acknowledgment.

"….Like Kal'El? The son of Jor'El?" Dean smirked.

"I do not understand that reference," Castiel frowned. Dean's grin dropped in disbelief.

"Like, Superman? You know, nerdy guy Clark Kent by day who turns out to be, well, _Superman_?!" Dean exclaimed, gesturing wildly with his hands. Castiel huffed out a laugh, sounding amused and exasperated at the same time.

"Yes, I know who Superman is. Just not in so much detail," Castiel explained. "…And no one has ever made that comparison to my name before," he added, shooting a small smile Dean's way.

"Oh," Dean replied, a pleased flush creeping up his neck. Castiel stopped, turning to face Dean, and as those big blue eyes found him again Dean squirmed under the gaze, flushing all that harder and cursing himself for it.

"Thank you, Dean."

"For what?" he sputtered. Castiel glanced over at the door they had stopped in front of, 'Guidance Office' written in bold across it.

"Oh," Dean breathed, internally facepalming himself. Real smooth Dean. "So… I guess I'll see you around then?" he said, hoping it didn't sound as overly hopeful as he thought it did.

Castiel smiled. "Yes. I would like that."

Dean absolutely did not find himself whistling on the way to his English Lit class.

~

"Hello, Dean."

"Sonofabitch!" Dean exclaimed, nearly dropping his tray of food as the object of his thoughts for practically the entire morning suddenly appeared beside him from out of nowhere.

"Are you alright?" Castiel asked, his brows furrowing in concern.

"Yeah, just, you shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that," Dean stammered, trying to recover himself while he straightened the food on his tray.

"I'm sorry," Castiel apologized, his gaze boring into Dean as if he could make his remorse felt with his big blue eyes. Dean should've been used to this look, lord knows his brother Sam had turned it on him enough times over the years, but coming from Castiel he found he was no where near immune to it as he should be.

"It's okay," Dean breathed.

Castiel nodded slightly as his apology was accepted, but he didn't turn away or say anything further, and the silence stretched between them awkwardly.

"Um… You wanna join me for lunch?" Dean offered.

"Alright," Castiel agreed. Dean exhaled in relief, the weird tension breaking as they turned to find somewhere to sit.

But just as Dean spotted a table, Crowley and his Student Council cronies came up to them, blocking their way. Dean grimaced in displeasure.

"Hello Castiel, My name is Crowley," the president introduced himself. "On behalf of the student council we'd like to welcome you to the school. Would you like to join us for lunch?" Crowley asked, giving Castiel a too smooth smile that marked him as having a bright future as a used car salesman. Or a dirty politician. Which he probably was already.

"Um…" Castiel began. Dean clenched his jaw as he waited for the other boy's answer. This was it, the crossroads that would determine how Castiel spent his Senior year… With Crowley and the rest of the student council douchebags, or, hopefully, with Dean.

"No thanks, I'm having lunch with Dean."

Dean released an audible breath at Castiel's reply. Crowley raised an eyebrow at Dean's reaction, but by the time Crowley turned back to Castiel he had that oily leer plastered on his face again, and he politely excused himself.

"Are you alright Dean?" Castiel asked once Crowley's entourage was out of earshot.

"Yeah," Dean muttered, leading them to the table they'd spotted earlier, "But for a minute there I thought you were gonna go Darkseid and join in Crowley's evil plans for world domination."

"Was that another Superman reference?" Castiel asked, narrowing his eyes at Dean as they sat down.

"You catch on quick Cas, there's hope for you yet!" Dean grinned.

Castiel's lips twitched into a small smile.

~

Dean was halfway through explaining to Cas why the '67 Impala was a far superior vehicle to the '65 Mustang when the first warning bell went off. He cursed under his breath, realising he was going to have to cut short one of the most enjoyable lunch periods he'd had that didn't involve making out with some girl in the janitor's closest or sneaking off campus to get some pie down the road at BigGerson's.

"Dean? What's wrong?" Castiel asked, his attentive gaze quickly turning to concern.

"I gotta get to the Guidance Office," Dean explained. "I promised Moseley I'd submit my last elective by the end of the day. I'm already way late and if I push it anymore she'll have my ass."

"Yes I get the feeling she would," Castiel smirked. Dean huffed a laugh. Obviously the woman had left a strong impression when Castiel met her earlier that morning.

"So what are you going to pick?" Castiel asked.

"I have no idea" Dean sighed. "Art? At least I could pick up some chicks that way," Dean joked half-heartedly.

Castiel frowned.

"I'm kidding, Cas," Dean sighed. Castiel continued to frown, although it seemed to turn into something resembling Sammy's bitchface, and Dean rolled his eyes at the implied condescension.

"Didn't you say you wanted to work at your Uncle Bobby's garage after High School?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah? So?" Dean replied.

"Well, maybe someday you might want to run your own garage," Castiel suggested. Dean thought about it for a second.

"That would be awesome," he concluded, grinning at Castiel.

"Well, then maybe you could take Business Stats? It would help if you wanted to run your own shop?" Castiel offered. Dean's face fell.

"I dunno Cas, I'm not really the brainy type."

"I could help you. I took the class last year at my old school."

"Really?" Dean asked hopefully, mixed with a little bit of awe.

"My family wants me to go into accounting," Castiel grinned. Dean laughed at that, it seemed to fit Cas perfectly.

"You must be pretty smart then, huh?"

Castiel shrugged.

"You sure you wouldn't rather be hanging out with those student council types instead? Seems to be what all the brainy kids do," Dean snarked.

"Absolutely not. I fear they would attempt to rope me into their grand schemes, as you said. And if I can avoid it at all I would rather _not_ be in a position that would require me to… _run_ things," Castiel replied.

"Maybe you should. We could use a new Sheriff around town. Maybe then you could do something about the cafeteria food. Seriously, have you seen the kitchen? It's like the frikkin apocalypse went off in there!" Dean complained. Castiel laughed, his eyes lighting up with mirth and crinkling at the corners as he threw his head back and clutched at his sides.

Dean drew in a sharp breath at the sight. It was the first time Castiel had really laughed out loud during their conversation and Dean found himself liking it. A lot. So much so, that he found himself still staring long after Castiel's laughs had subsided.

"Dean?" Castiel tilted his head inquisitively, leaning forward as his blue eyes searched Dean's face. Dean's eyes shot down to Castiel's lips as the other boy moved closer, and he found himself licking his own lips unconsciously as he stared.

Castiel caught the movement, his eyes flicking down to Dean's mouth, and Dean cleared his throat uncomfortably, for what seemed like the millionth time trying to shake off the effect the other boy had on him.

"Are you serious? About helping me out?" he asked. Castiel's eyes softened.

"Of course, Dean," he replied.

"Thanks Cas," Dean responded gruffly.

When Castiel's mouth curled up into that shy smile again Dean finally realised it seemed to happen every time he used Cas' nickname, and Dean found his own lips curving up in response.

~

"Business Stats?" Moseley raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, Dean said. "Cas is going to help me," he explained, shooting a furtive smile Castiel's way.

Moseley beamed at Castiel.

"Well aren't you just an _angel_?" she praised. And even though the compliment was directed at Castiel, Dean found himself flushing in response, agreeing with Moseley completely.

~

"Hangon Sam, I told Cas I'd give him a ride home. Show him the car and stuff."

"Who's Cas?" Sam asked curiously, hitching his overly large backpack more comfortably on his small frame as they waited outside on the school's front lawn.

"Castiel. New guy," Dean shrugged. Sam's eyes narrowed at the overly nonchalant gesture, not missing a beat.

"Dean, did you actually make an honest-to-god _friend_ today?" Sam's eyes widened mockingly.

"Shaddap."

Sam snickered.

"Bitch."

"Jerk," Sam replied automatically.

But for all his brother's teasing, apparently Dean making a friend was a bigger deal than he'd thought, because by the time Castiel appeared Sam was so flustered that the first thing he did was shoot his hand out awkwardly in greeting. Castiel raised an eyebrow at the formality of the gesture, but after a moment he stiffly reached out and shook Sam's hand.

~

Dean introduced Castiel to his baby with a loving caress across the shining metal of her hood. Castiel's mouth merely twitched in amusement as Sam sighed in exasperation, but it was still a step up from when Kali had flat out refused to get in "that thing" last year. Dean did see a small gleam of something like appreciation, or respect, in Castiel's eyes though, but it seemed to be aimed at _him_ instead of the car.

He didn't have much time to work it out though, because that was when Dean saw the angry mass of football captain heading his way – the boyfriend of one of the twins.

"Winchester," the quarterback snarled as he approached the car. Apparently the guy had found out what Dean did last summer.

"Sonofabitch," Dean cursed under his breath, turning to face the music. But before Dean even had time to plaster a cocky grin on his face the guy took a swing at him.

Dean ducked out of the way easily, more than accustomed to these scuffles over girls or whatever personality flaw of his that had offended someone in some way in the past. But when he came around to return the blow, the guy was already sprawled on the pavement, Castiel standing over him with a glare that could smite the hosts of Hell.

Dean gaped.

Cradling his jaw, the football player backed away from them, outnumbered and clearly not expecting to be so thoroughly _owned_. Especially not by someone who was no where near his own massive size.

As the quarterback disappeared through the small crowd that had gathered around them, Castiel turned his death-glare onto the onlookers, quickly scattering them as well.

When Castiel finally turned back around, his face had returned to normal. But when Dean still couldn't stop gaping Castiel eventually reached out to grasp Dean's shoulder, snapping him out of it.

"Let's go," Castiel said softly, and Dean nodded dumbly, following him to the car.

~

"Not that I can't handle myself Cas, but that was seriously badass."

And seriously hot, Dean added internally as he eyed Castiel in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah Cas, that was awesome!" Sam chimed in. Castiel's mouth twitched as Sam used his nickname, giving the younger boy a fond smile.

"Seems like you've been saving my ass all day," Dean said. And maybe he would be all year too, what with offering to help Dean with his Stats class. Dean remembered what Moseley said in the office earlier and thought yeah, maybe Cas really was like a guardian angel or something. _His_ guardian angel, Dean thought with a small leap of possessiveness in his chest.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that all about?"

Sam snickered, turning around in his seat to tell Castiel all about the Doublement twins.

"Sisters? And one of them had a boyfriend? Dean, don't you think that was a bit reckless?" Castiel frowned.

"Reckless? Hah! That was _nothing_," Dean scoffed. Castiel raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, if you don't like 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant' maybe."

And that was the moment when Dean formulated a plan which would pretty much guarantee he spent as much time with Castiel over the next year as possible…

"So Cas… Wanna help me out with English Lit too? I get the feeling Mr. Alastair's class is gonna be torture…"

_~ fin_

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><p><em>The sequel to this story 'School's Out' is also posted at this site :)<em>


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